REAMWORKS SPIRIT RIDING FREE is an all-new Netflix original series premiering May 5. DreamWorks has teamed up with Common Sense Media to present a handy discussion guide to help parents talk with their kids about some of the themes and lessons in the show.

Parents Need to KnowParents need to know that Spirit Riding Free follows Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and tells the story of the original Spirit’s offspring and a

young girl he befriends. Set during the expansion of the American west, it treads lightly on the factual strife between new settlers and the indigenous

population, represented by wild stallions like Spirit. Even so, the content raises issues parents and kids can discuss like migration and assimilation.

There are some tense moments that pose peril for young characters, but they’re quickly resolved. Lucky is an exceptional heroine for the story, showing courage,

selflessness, and a tireless sense of adventure.

Families Can Talk About• What accounts for Lucky and Spirit’s special connection? What

characteristics do they share? How does each inspire the other, even though they can’t talk to each other?

• How do characters in this show demonstrate courage? Why is that an important character strength?

• Who are Lucky’s role models? How is she inspired by the memory of her mom? What’s the value of having role models to emulate?

• How do Lucky and her friends experience nature together? What do you and your friends notice when you’re outside in your part of the world?

• Were girls and boys treated differently in Lucky’s time? How does Lucky deal with what’s expected of her by her aunt vs. what she wants to do in life? Do you think this is an accurate example of what girlhood was like many years ago?

• Why is it initially hard for Lucky to make friends? How do the girls grow closer as they discover new things about each other? Have you ever had to make a new friend in a new place?

• Are Lucky’s adventures always safe? She and her friends have a lot of freedom and sometimes get into scary situations. Do you think the consequences they face on the show would be the same in real life?

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Character Strengths to Discuss

COURAGE

SELF-CONTROL

TEAMWORK

What’s the Story?When her dad’s job with the railroad takes Lucky to the primitive western town of Miradero, she’s none too sure she will fit in. Caught between her Aunt Cora’s expectations that Lucky be raised a proper young lady and her own adventurous spirit that often stands in contradiction, she finds solace in the company of a headstrong wild stallion she names Spirit and soon befriends classmates Pru and Abigail. Together the three girls and their horses share adventures in the as yet untamed land of the American west.

DreamWorks Spirit Riding Free © 2017 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.© Common Sense Media Inc. Common Sense Media is a registered trademark of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).

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